Se sabe desde hace tiempo que los hijos de mujeres que fumaron durante el embarazo pueden desarrollar déficits cognitivos relacionados con la audición. Un nuevo estudio realizado por investigadores de la Universidad de California, en Irvine, revela que nicotina es la culpable de esa deficiencia.
Su estudio, publicado en el "European Journal of Neuroscience", demuestra que la exposición a la nicotina durante un tiempo equivalente al tercer trimestre del embarazo conduce a déficit cognitivo relacionado con la audición y que la probable causa es el daño producido en los receptores del cerebro que son sensibles a la nicotina, algo que ocurre en animales y seres humanos que han estado expuestos a la sustancia durante el desarrollo.
Los niños con deficiencias auditivas por esta causa desarrollan distintos problemas cognitivos derivados de esa peor audición, como dificultad para comprender un discurso en ambientes algo ruidosos, no entender la información proporcionada oralmente y no detectar diferencias entre sonidos similares.
European Journal of Neuroscience 2006;doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04945.x
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